Open Source Conference - a way forward

To start with a quick thank you to all that came and made the day such a success. Below are my 2p's worth. I like the idea of a local chapter of SchoolForge as I think it gives it a specific educational focus which being part of the AFFS organisation might be lacking. However, I'm not clear about what specific benefits that would provide us with. Fundamentally we would still have to build the site ourselves and then announce it to SchoolForge so that 'Open Source in UK Education Network' (OSIUKEN? (pronounced 'ossie-u-ken' - how's that for catchy ! ;o)) can be another of the organisations underneath the SchoolForge umbrella. Looking quickly through the list of existing members there are quite a number of UK institutions already there. As a complete aside do we see OSIUKEN (I'm getting the hang of this now :)) as a co-ordinating umbrella organisation for the UK scene with the idea of focussing the efforts of all those in the UK who are contributing together? Which brings me to point 2 - where to host it. Taking on the principle of 'just do it' (apologies to Nike) Larry Walker (Technical Manager, Saint Bede's School - Redhill) has set up a 'smartgroup' (http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/os.education) It has sharing facilities, file swapping, mailing list, FAQ area etc. In lieu of an alternative *at present* is this something people want to get involved in? It might not be the final resting place but it is a start. If you are interested you have to go to the URL, click on the join group button, then create an account using your e-mail address. I've made it publicly viewable and it does give a development environment for material. If there are other/better alternatives let me know. I have limited experience and I am happy to take advice but above anything else I want to *do something*! Michael Brown of Fen Systems has agreed for the OSIE info (http://www.fensystems.co.uk/osieweb/fs/main.html) to be used in the new site (whatever form that might take) and we can put parts of the conference CD on it too. Ideally the CD would be the kicking off point and more dynamic content can be added as we go along. So who's up for doing what?

James Spedding <james.spedding@rdiu.anglia.ac.uk> wrote:
(http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/os.education) It has sharing facilities, file swapping, mailing list, FAQ area etc. = In lieu of an alternative *at present* is this something people want to = get involved in? It might not be the final resting place but it is a = start.
I've finally got the promised wiki available online at http://www.affs.org.uk/~mjr/wiki/ for now. Please start helping me to shape this blank canvas. If I can help by answering questions in any way, I will. It seems that SchoolForge UK is the preferred "brand" for the group and I'd support that. I never suggested that the AFFS general publicity is suitable for education, just that AFFS is the most suitable host org, so I'd support that and I'll give them the wiki if wanted once the site starts to take shape. We should be able to export the data in a few formats, so there's possibilities there. Mirroring is trickier for a wiki, but I'll see what we can do. A question about the smartgroups site: how easy is it to export the data from that service, if needed? I'd hate to see hard work being lost because it wasn't easily backed up/mirrored.
[...] I want to *do something*!
Me too. Please tell me what to do. Polite requests only, please.
Michael Brown of Fen Systems has agreed for the OSIE info = (http://www.fensystems.co.uk/osieweb/fs/main.html) to be used in the new = site (whatever form that might take) and we can put parts of the =
What formats is the data exported in? Or the whole system?
So who's up for doing what?
See above. Real work is now intruding, so I may go quieter. -- MJR http://mjr.towers.org.uk/ IM: slef@jabber.at This is my home web site. This for Jabber Messaging. How's my writing? Let me know via any of my contact details.
participants (2)
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James Spedding
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MJ Ray